Frankenstein Story
by Jack
Summary: This is the newest gendre of Fanfiction writing! A complete story made up of different parts submited by some of your favorite Authors!


Frankenstein Story  
  
-  
Hello! It is I, Jack! And I would like to present the newest genre of Fanfiction writing! The Frankenstein Story! This story is made of many parts each one written by a different author. Just like the parts of the Frankenstein monster! I wrote the first part and sent it on to another Author and then they wrote a part and then sent it on. This creates a completely original story that even any of the Authors or I didn't know how it was going to play out.  
  
Below are the submissions of each Author. Each submission begins with the Author's name then his or her part of the story. And at the end is a list of all of them.  
  
And I have to say this now to prevent any flamers and anyone who might want to rant about it. This story does not contain couples, relationships or any violence above a PG rating. So all you flamers have nothing to complain about, well, unless you get really creative that is.   
  
And so, without further ado, here is the story! (It's alive! It's alive! Mwahahahahahaha! Oh, sorry. :)  
-  
  
~Jack  
  
"Ah, I love the morning." Sighed Takeru as he got out of bed. It was a perfect Saturday. The ones where there isn't a cloud in the sky and the weather report says that it will stay that way for the rest of the weekend.  
  
He slipped on some clothes and made his way to the kitchen to see if his mother was up.  
  
"Morning mom." He said cheerfully to his mother who was at the dining room table with a cup of coffee and the morning newspaper.  
  
"Hello Takeru, sleep well?" She asked.  
  
"Like a baby." He replied as he reached into the fridge and brought out a carton of orange juice. Pouring himself a cup of the orange liquid, he put the carton back and stepped out onto his apartments balcony. He took a sip from the glass and looked at the city that was just waking up.  
  
He almost choked on the juice.  
  
He looked again and this time he did start choking. The sounds of coughing and sputtering quickly brought his mother to his side.  
  
"Takeru! What's wrong?" She asked in a worried and somewhat panicked tone.  
  
"Mom, (cough), do you, (cough), do you see anything, (cough), strange out there?" He managed to get out between the sputtering and pointed towards the center of the city.  
  
"No, nothing at all." She said and was about to press on about her sons health when the phone rang from inside. "Are you sure you're ok?"  
  
Takeru nodded as his coughing died down to a stop. His mother went back inside.  
  
"Takeru! It's for you!" She called.  
  
When he reached the phone he was greeted by Hikari's voice. "Hey Takeru, do you see anything strange outside?" She asked.  
  
"By anything strange would that include seeing a large medieval castle in the middle of the downtown which no one else but us can see?" He asked and listened that indeed it would. "Yes, I see it too."  
  
"There's something going on here," she said. "I'll call the others and we'll meet downtown in ten minutes." Then she hung up.  
  
This is going to be one of those days. He thought as he went to his room to get Patamon.  
  
***  
  
~Midnight Velvet  
  
"Patamon!" he called Patamon.  
  
"Yes, Takeru?" Patamon flew into sight. Takeru sighed in relief; fear had been jolting him.  
  
"Okay, let's go." Takeru gave Patamon no reason as to what or why they were going, but dragged the digimon out of his house.  
  
"Takeru, where are we going?" Patamon whined. Hikari and the others came into view.  
  
"Hikari!" Takeru ran to meet her. "Look, have you explained to the others?"   
Hikari nodded,  
  
"Of course I have." She froze and pointed at the sky. "Hey, look!" the castle was floating above their heads. Hikari shivered as a cold breeze swept over the group.  
  
"Right, Hikari, you brought the others right?" Takeru asked anxiously.  
  
"Of course, I did, Mr. Paranoid." Hikari smiled.  
  
"Okay, thanks, now I feel stupid." Takeru muttered as Miyako, Iori, Ken and   
Daisuke ran towards him.   
  
"Hi all."  
  
"Hi."  
  
"Hi."  
  
"Hi."  
  
"Hi."  
  
"Right, err… problem," Hikari pointed to the castle above them.  
  
"That's not a problem!" Miyako laughed, everybody stared at her. "I was joking."  
  
"And what exactly are we supposed to do?" Daisuke asked.  
  
"Ah. Good point," Takeru realized they had no plan.  
  
"Chase it?" Miyako suggested. Everybody looked at her again. "I'm joking!!"  
  
"Using our digimon would be the best option." Iori said logically.  
  
"He's right." Hikari told the rest of the group.  
  
"Well, Hawkmon can't come, he's on a date with Biyomon!" Miyako laughed.  
Everybody craned their necks and goggled at her. "I WAS JOKING!!!!"  
  
"Miyako, if I could make a suggestion." Ken spoke gently.  
  
"Yes?" Miyako sounded grumpy.  
  
"Maybe it's time to stop the jokes."  
  
***  
  
~Zxcv  
  
The small group sat in a circle on the grass, only a short distance into the bushes and away from the floating menace above.  
  
"So, we've currently decided to use our digimon to fly up there in pairs and explore in the same groups," mused Ken. "As well, we will have the pairs as me and Davis, Takeru and Iori, and Miyako and Hikari."  
  
"Well, yeah," Iori replied, "and what we need to do is find out what it is, and why it is here and all of that."  
  
"You sound a lot like Koushiro and Jyou, ya know," Takeru pointed out.  
  
"Well, I wouldn't know for sure," Hikari rubbed her arms from the piercing cold caused by the icy breezes. "But it sure seems evil. Don't know why, but it feels like a dark aura surrounds it."  
  
"I'd have to agree, because you seem to know these things, Hikari. Besides,"  
Takeru continued, "if only we can see it, there has to be a reason. It just isn't right."  
  
A chorus of agreement met his ears.  
  
"Well," Miyako said, "since when are medieval castles that float in the sky, appearing suddenly from seemingly thin air, and only certain people see 'right'?"  
  
"Well, okay, I see your point." Takeru responded, embarrassed.  
  
"What are we sitting around for still?" Daisuke stood now. "We should be going now, not sitting around!"  
  
"In simpler terms, lets go!" Iori shouted enthusiastically.  
  
"Digi-armor energize!"  
  
"Patamon armor-digivolve to... Pegasusmon! Galloping Hope!"  
  
"Gatomon armor-digivolve to... Nefertimon! The Angel of Light!"  
  
"Wormon digivolve to... Stingmon!"  
  
Daisuke and Ken were both placed on Stingmon's back by the afore-mentioned digimon, while Takeru and Iori hopped on Pegasusmon's back and Hikari and  
Miyako did the same for Nefertimon. The digimon who hadn't digivolved followed their partners as well onto the flying Digimon.  
  
A silence developed in the air of solemnest. Getting to the castle was a slow and uneventful process. Each person developed their own thoughts and wonderings inside of their head. Only the Digimon paid much attention.  
  
Seemingly soon, only because they hadn't been paying attention, the castle was there, looming in front of them. They landed upon a platform that jutted out from the bottom of the castle to the front of it. A doorway stood like a dark mouth, the door made of wooden planks standing open.  
  
Takeru looked awed at the peak that stretched from the pitch-black base, one hand resting on Pegasusmon's back. Iori looked at the platform and the immediate opening in front of them. Miyako glanced at the ground far below and gulped loudly. Daisuke was hopping off of Stingmon to land on the platform and stared intently at the doorway. Ken just silently looked at his partner.  
  
"Here goes nothing." The pairs and their digimon walked through the open doors, looking as if they had been expected there all along.  
  
***  
  
~Anorexic Chibi  
  
As soon as the last of them had stepped through the doors, they slammed shut, leaving the explorers in total darkness.  
  
Off to the right, a torch lit in blue flames, then another to their left. Two long rows of torches lit up down the long corridor, bathing it in an eerie light.  
  
"That's why the wind was so cold," Ken said.  
  
"Huh?" The other children had been paying too much attention to the lights to notice anything else.  
  
"The entire corridor is coated in ice," Ken said as he motioned with his hand. "See?"  
  
The other children followed Ken's hand as he pointed to the walls and floor. Now they could see the light reflect off the clear ice, and the stone that lie beneath it.  
  
"Hmm, that will be difficult to cross," Iori mused as he looked over the ice. "The passage is too narrow for any of our digimon to fly through, except for Hawkmon, but he can't carry any of us."  
  
Takeru looked carefully at the digimon present. "Daisuke, have Veemon digivolve into Flamedramon. He could melt the ice for us to get through."  
  
"Gotcha," Daisuke nodded. "Digi-armor energize!"  
  
"Veemon armor-digivolve to... Flamedramon! The fire of courage."  
  
"Fire Rocket!" Flamedramon called out as he launched a fireball at the ice. Once it connected, it fizzled and died.  
  
"That wasn't supposed to happen, was it?" Miyako asked.  
  
"Err!" Daisuke exclaimed as he hit his hand.  
  
Flamedramon emulated his partner's action, but instead he punched the wall. His claws sank into the ice.  
  
"Ice that can resist flame but is pounded through by claws? That's not logical," Iori said as he looked at the wall.  
  
"Whatever, I think we've found our way through here," Ken said. "Any digimon with claws, you're our passage through here. Let's see, Shurimon, Stingmon,  
Flamedramon, and Nefertimon. Pegasusmon, you should de-digivolve to get through here."  
  
Pegasusmon nodded, then gave up the digiegg to shrink back to his Patamon stage.  
  
"Digi-armor energize!" Miyako cried out.  
  
"Hawkmon armor digivolve to... Shurimon!"  
  
Miyako held onto Shurimon as he threw his stars along the passage, pulling them along.  
  
Ken mounted the back of Stingmon, holding on tightly as his partner pounded the ground with his claws.  
  
Flamedramon held Daisuke and Armadilomon in his hands as he walked down the passage on his toes.  
  
Takeru, Hikari, and Iori jumped on the back of Nefertimon while she ran down the corridor on cat claws.  
  
After a few minutes, the ice ended, and everyone dismounted his or her digimon.  
  
"Glad that's over with," Daisuke said relieved. "I thought it would never end."  
  
"It'll be easier from here on out, right?" Takeru said hopefully.  
  
Hikari shook her head. "No. The darkness is stronger here. I can feel it more clearly."  
  
"So there will be more stuff like that?" Miyako asked, flustered.  
  
Hikari shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. We just have to keep going."  
  
As the children moved on, a dark shadow emerged from a recess in the wall.  
  
"They made it past the first part," it said to itself. Then it disappeared.  
  
***  
  
-Kuroi Shi  
  
The Digidestined's continued walking through the twisting hallways of the medieval castle. Hikari was in the lead. After a few short minutes, they came to a room with 3 doors  
  
"Which way now?" Miyako asked  
  
Hikari walked to the middle of the room, and stared at the doors for a minute. "To the right"  
  
"How do you know?" Asked Iori  
  
"I don't. But I kind of feel like something is telling me to go that way"  
  
The digidestined's and their digimon began walking again, with Hikari still in the lead.  
  
As soon as they left the room, the shadow came back. "Damn, They were supposed to get lost! I have a feeling; the child of light will get them safely to where they have to be. So, I have to get rid of her."  
  
The kids entered another room. Just as they were out of the doorway, their digimon de-digivolved.  
  
"You can't use your digimon to cheat now." Said a creepy voice that was coming behind the wall.  
  
"Don't move any further," Hikari told everyone. "Part of this floor is an illusion'  
  
"How can ya tell?" Asked Daisuke. He took a step forward, and almost fell right into the darkness below.  
  
"I can see the real floor." Hikari explained, as she helped pull Daisuke up.  
"Everyone, follow me, and stay close."  
  
Everyone picked up their digimon, and followed Hikari around the room.  
  
The shadow appeared again. "Damn! Hikari has to be stopped, before she leads everyone to safety"  
  
When everyone was safely out of the room, they continued walking through the halls. Before they made it to the next room, Hikari vanished.  
  
"Hikari!" Yelled Takeru, attempting to catch her, just as she was leaving.  
  
A shadow flew down, out of the ceiling and landed in front of the remaining digidestined "We can't have the child of light interfering with the darkness, now can we?"  
  
The shadow flew away, leaving the digidestined kids completely lost.  
  
"Crap! What the hell are we supposed to do now?" Ken asked  
  
"Let's keep going. I have a feeling, when we get to what ever made this castle, we will find Hikari." Suggested Takeru, as he took the lead.  
  
***  
~ Demiveemons_Candy_Eater ~  
  
Takeru lead the others down a long hallway, which seemed as though it wound never stop. Getting a bit worried the boy of hope looked back to see if everyone was all right as they followed. Sure enough, everyone was fine. The boy sighed as he turned his head. His blonde hair moved slightly as a gust of wind came. Unsure of what to think of this he stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face his teammates.  
  
"Guys, did you just feel that?" Questioned Takeru now a bit worried.  
  
Iori looked at Takeru and then back at the floor he was standing on as he said, "What are you talking about? Feel what?"  
  
Just then a Ken heard a scream come from the room in the left corner behind them. In a panic Ken rushed inside thinking it might be Hikari in danger.  
  
"Ken come back where are you going?!?!" Yelled the girl with lavender hair who went by the name of Miyako.  
  
Right as Ken entered the room the doors where shut tight so nothing could get in or out.  
  
'Where am I?' though Ken as he walked through a deep dark hallway. It had many pictures on the wall, which looked to be some type of a royal family.  
There were many weird statues on platforms too.  
  
Meanwhile on the other side of the door the team was in a mess.  
  
"First Hikari now Ken! Quick we need to save him! What if something happens too him!" yelled once again Miyako.  
  
"Calm down...we can just break through this wall with our Digimon right  
Daisuke?" Takeru said to Miyako.  
  
Daisuke started to study the door. 'How do we get through this door?' thought Daisuke before he said "Maybe we can drill through it...Iori?"  
  
"Right! Digi Armor Energize!" Yelled Iori as his voice then made an echo through the hallway.  
  
Meanwhile Ken found himself staring into a crystal ball he had past. He began to feel a bit dizzy but continued to stare at it as if something was telling him to stay alive he need to. Soon the boy of kindness fell to the ground as smoke began to fill the room.  
  
When the longhaired boy awoke he saw an image of someone he knew in a heartbeat. It was Osamu. Quickly Ken ran up to him. As he reached him Osamu uttered the words "Ken I am dead but I want to be with you so you will join me"  
  
As he said those words Osamu touched Ken. As he did a great deal of electricity rushed in him as he began to get electrified. The former Kaiser fell to the ground luckily still breathing. Osamu was set on what he wanted to do and began choking Ken. The dead brother laughed as his voice changed into the voice they had heard before in the shadows.  
  
The rest of the gang was helpless to get in the door. They tried drilling threw it, burning it, attacking it, and cutting through it but none of their plans worked. As the gang was trying to get in to save Ken, Ken's life was slipping away.  
  
***  
  
~Renegade  
  
  
Hikari wasn't sure quite how she'd gotten to this dark chamber deep within the ground. After all, this was a floating medieval castle in the sky, which defied gravity and maintained not even the barest connection to the earth. But she had the oddest sense that she was underground, and what she had loosely termed as her "oddest senses" were rarely, if ever, wrong.  
  
Black chains held her tightly to the walls of the prison, binding her arms, legs, torso, neck, and forehead. They burned her everywhere they touched her flesh, as if they had been thrown carelessly into a pit of flames and just now taken out. She tested them; there was no way that she could escape from them without supernatural powers.  
  
Child of Light she may have been, and was, but supernatural Hikari was not.  
  
A hot surge of fury flowed through her veins. I want to know who is responsible for this, she thought angrily. I want to know why they are here; why they did what they're doing, and especially what in hell they want with us.  
  
:Those are easy to answer,: a cackle in her mind replied- the arrogant, self-assured voice of one who knew that he or she had the upper hand. But- a voice in her mind? Hikari felt that her mind was something that she was now losing. Then she recalled something that Gatomon had told her- she said that she'd learned it from Wizardmon- something called MindSpeech that allowed one magically talented persona to speak in the mind of another, and if that other possessed the Gift of magic as well, he or she could reply. A wild guess, to be sure; Hikari had never experienced MindSpeech herself.   
But it was all she had, and wild guesses were often not far from wrong.  
  
:They call me Iraki. I'm here because I like it here- the city of Tokyo has so much Darkness- and darkened souls- hidden deep within it that I never feel even the barest pangs of hunger. Why I have you captive? It's fun. I always love to feel fear, and panic, and anxiety, especially among victims.   
That, too, appeases my hunger. And there's also the purity of your souls- that is appetizing as well. I just love a pure soul to work the threads of   
Darkness into, to torment, to corrupt- then to devour.:  
  
Appeases her hunger? Thought Hikari. In what way?  
  
:In the way that food appeases yours,: came the reply, in a tone that implied that Hikari was certainly an inexperienced fool.  
  
So... Iraki feeds off of negative emotions, Hikari hazarded. She's probably the one we have to defeat to get out of this mess. How can I use that against her?  
  
:Yes, think,: Iraki mentally snarled, self-satisfied. :In the end, you'll end up in despair- for how can you win against yourself? And despair is one of my favorite flavors.:  
  
Win against myself? Hikari thought, puzzled. What can she mean? She isn't me, and I'm not her. Am I?  
  
She thought about this for a moment, and gave it up. Given the rate that   
Iraki had been going, she would reveal the answer in a moment. Hikari instead turned her subconscious to a warrior's calculations- what was Iraki's weakness? As a matter of fact, what in Heaven, Earth, and/or Hell was she in the first place?  
  
What has Iraki said so far that would reveal her identity, besides her name?  
  
She feeds off of negative emotions, and apparently off of souls as well. She said something about me not being able to win against myself, implying that she was either me or she was a mirror-copy of-  
  
THAT'S IT!  
  
Hikari knew of only one creature in any of the three realms that she had mentioned before or in the Digital World that fed off of negative emotions, and off of souls. It was probably related to one of the many creatures in the Digital World- namely, Myotismon. It was also a relative of the vampires in the human world as well. There were many forms of it, with three heading the top of the list as the most potent, specializing in flesh, blood, and souls. Some described the "flesh" breed of this monster "Jack the Ripper times one million." The "blood" variation was like what many assumed the vampire to be- a completely cold-hearted monstrosity that views humanity as its rightful prey. Truth to be told, they were bad enough.  
  
But the "soul" variation- it was worse than anything Hikari had ever heard of. It quite literally ate the souls of its victims, and the more that it influenced pain and suffering in its prey, the better it liked it. The fiend's true form was a cloud of something resembling smoke, but it could absorb and assume the forms of its victims as it devoured them, and use them as it would. This creature was only vulnerable in its human forms- once in its cloud form, it was invincible.  
  
The creature was called a gaki, known to some as the Japanese vampire. And   
Hikari thought it quite unlucky that their adversary was apparently a member of the "soul" breed of gaki.  
  
In fact, the situation would probably deteriorate rapidly and turn out deadly.  
  
The Child of Light felt a quiver of fear touch her heart, and forcefully smashed it. Fear would only make her a more desirable victim.  
  
:Good,: Iraki smirked. :Your brain works after all. I'm glad you have heard of my kind- finally, we seem to be achieving some fame among humanity. But you still have one piece of the puzzle lost. Tsk, tsk.:  
  
Iraki the gaki, the irrational part of Hikari's mind thought amusedly. It rhymes. How funny.  
  
I can't win against myself. That was what she said. Or it, rather. But no matter. What was meant? Either she is me, or I am her, or she is a mirror image of me, or she killed me and took my form and then I was reincarnated into the same form I had before with no apparent changes- THIS IS TOO   
CONFUSING!  
  
:Humans,: Iraki thought, her MindVoice positively dripping with disdain.   
:Always quitting when things get rough. You idiot. All of your thoughts are correct- excluding the latter. I am you, you are me, and I am a mirror image of you, aside from the fact that while you are angelic, and Light, in substance, I am vampiric, and dark. Ever heard of an evil twin? If you want more proof, add an "H" to the end of my name and spell it backward.:  
  
Iraki waited, with obvious impatience, as Hikari did so. Then the Child of   
Light's voice was heard in the gloom. "It- it spells Hikari."  
  
No wonder she wants me out of the way- I'm the only one who can beat her, because I'm the only one who knows any possible weaknesses she might have.  
  
:Good. You've proven yourself capable of thinking,: Iraki MindSpoke dryly.  
  
All right then, Kamiya, think your way out of this. She can hear your thoughts, so don't reveal anything important, Hikari told herself, realizing how completely idiotic the last sentence sounded scant seconds after it exited her mouth.  
  
Meanwhile, Iraki looked to be getting bored, and was beginning to slowly vanish- while the chains around Hikari loosened themselves slightly every time Hikari had to squint harder to see the gaki. :While you're thinking,   
I'll go keep myself busy.: "...at the cost of your friends" seemed to be a given.  
  
- - -  
  
Takeru, Miyako, Iori, and Daisuke were not having a wonderful time of it.  
  
Somehow, they had been surrounded from front to sides, and the only way they could escape their foe was to retreat.  
  
It didn't help that their foe's only form seemed to be a cloud of smoke.  
  
They had already been forced back into the room with the illusioned floor.   
The group had already tried to fight the cloud, to no effect. The air around it seemed poisoned, ready to kill them if they advanced past their current position. Takeru didn't want to admit it, but things seemed a bit hopeless.  
  
Now his only thought was not to fall in through the illusion. He was keeping every other thought at bay until they reached safe, defensible ground. Unlike Hikari, he could not see the real floor. He could only feel his way through, but that took time. It was time that he could not spare.  
  
Miyako was still hysterical over the disappearance of Ken, and wasn't watching as closely as she might. She knew that one wrong step could mean death- or worse- but at the time, she didn't care. This was Ken, her friend, her companion, her partner... she had had a similar reaction to   
Hikari's disappearance, and the weights of the two losses combined had had the effect of unhinging Miyako. She turned to run, and half-fell into darkness as her foot landed on an imaginary tile. Her balance shifted, and gravity won out over her will as Miyako tumbled into the unknown below.  
  
"MIYAKO!" Daisuke's voice followed the Child of Love and Sincerity into the dark oblivion that was designed to imprison one for the rest of their days.   
He was fifteen, now; that was four years that they'd been a team. Their partnership had gotten much more close-knit, and the disappearance of one of them for the slightest second longer than expected sent the rest into worry.   
The fact that half the team was trapped in unknown territory made the leader of the Digidestined worry- what was happening to them?  
  
Carelessness took over while Daisuke's mind was preoccupied, and his feet followed the same path as Miyako's had just as his fate followed the same twist. And the leader of the Digidestined, the Child of Courage and   
Friendship, fell into a dark hole. Within it were horrors Iraki only knew.  
  
Iori and Takeru were the lucky ones- they escaped the Room of Illusion without mishap. Their Digimon had decided to retreat into the Room of Ice- that was the next room down- they could reunite, and fight, and figure out what had happened to their comrades-  
  
And also be speared by a talon like spike of ice by the door. No matter what   
Takeru did, he couldn't get Iori free- what he did succeed in doing was get himself caught as well.  
  
The cloud of smoke kept advancing- and the Digimon were nowhere to be seen-and deep below all of this activity, Hikari completed the work that had seemed like her occupation for ages uncountable and slipped out of the last of her chains.  
  
***  
  
~Arch Nemesis  
  
  
As the burning chains fell away from her bare skin, Hikari was suddenly aware of the bitter cold all around her. She shivered, and her eyes impatiently darted around the room, settling finally on a spot on the ceiling- a door?  
  
A door... it took a few seconds for the meaning to sink in, but when it finally did, it engulfed her, and she smiled for the first time. A door!  
Escape! Kari leapt from where she lay amid the chains and bounded towards the hole in the ceiling, wanting to shout. My friends... I'll find them... finally... finally...  
  
And all thought of Iraki had fled from her conscious mind. No worries stirred of where the demon now lay, nor of why he didn't try to stop her.  
Nor did any suspicions arise over how easy her 'escape' had suddenly become.  
All were drowned in a wash of dream-like happiness.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
The Light Child pulled herself through the door and into the stone-tiled room above. Her voice carried out across what felt like miles and miles of open, empty darkness. Impossible, there are walls all around me, she thought, hesitantly... and stopped, staring more intently at the room that held her.  
  
Ashen stones lined every surface, and though there were no candles to be seen, the walls emitted their own style of streaming dark light. The aching cold had disappeared, as had the burning heat, and all Hikari could feel was the still nothingness around her. Her mind went blank, then flickered with memories, thoughts, facts of geography, ancient demonic worship that invoked chaos, forms forced against their nature... thoughts of pie. Pie? I must be dreaming. Her mind went blank again.  
  
As her gaze pierced the misty darkness, she saw doorways lining every wall, each leading, that voice in her head told her, down a winding passageway to nowhere. Above and around the doorways, clocks were mounted into the stone, slanted, the numbers backwards, sometimes upside down, and each one ticking backwards. As if counting the time there was... left.  
  
Beads of sweat began to form on the Light Childs's forehead, and her eyes anxiously flicked their gaze around the room, even faster now. There were huge rats, the size of dogs, black as ebony, somehow scurrying upside down on the ceiling, a bird, caged in the wall, singing in the voices of a dying mother and an orphaned child both at once, shadows, bending themselves into faces, leering at the child, devouring her, MY LIGHT! Hikari called out into the emptiness, her voice etched with tears.  
  
My light. Please, please, don't take my light...  
  
Within her, something flickered. And the shadows washed the illusions away.  
Into darkness. The walls were once again bare, with no doorways or exits, and Kari peered into the corner to see... her chains. From the dungeon.  
Waiting for her.  
  
I never escaped at all, she thought, seeds of despair rooting themselves deep inside her as the memory of Iraki returned to her. I never escaped her at all. I only drew her deeper inside of me... oh no, Hikari wailed silently as darkness wormed it's way into her. Iraki licked her lips and dissolved into Hikari's bloodstream, gently soaking the warmth from her body.  
  
The Light Child blinked. And reality swayed into her vision. She slowly discerned the forms of her friends, chained to the wall, trapped and blinded in the misty haze. But before she could do anything, Iraki joyfully drank the last drops of light from her soul...  
  
And Hikari became a Child of Darkness. Her bright hazel eyes faded into a flat, lifeless black, and her face fell... 'Who are those people chained up there?' she thought.  
  
***  
~Dark Prince~  
  
She was a whole new person. Hikari was gone and a new person was there in her body. A dark glow was around her and as it re-entered her the lifeless black eyes turned yellow, of which when light hit then turned an evil red.   
Suddenly the chains on her dissolved. She walked towards Takeru. "Who is he, I feel like I know him." She mumbled to herself as she walked away.  
  
As she walked around the darkness absorbed into her making her feel more powerful. Suddenly as she began to leave she saw Ken in front of her blocking her. "Out of my way!" she yelled, as she got closer. "No." Ken said coldly.   
"Then be destroyed," she said as she suddenly sent a beam of Darkness at him. But to her surprise Ken dodged it and swept his leg at hers causing her to fall. He then pinned her. "Fight it!" ken yelled at her. "Fight what?" she asked as she pushed Ken up and threw him out of the way. "Is this what you want to do to..." Ken started then a bright light engulfed him and then turned into Takeru, "Your friends and loved ones?" "What are you!" she demanded. "Your..." he began to say but then the light engulfed him and he turned into Tailmon and all her friends, family, and other loved ones,   
"Heart." "Stay away!" she cried in terror. "Be exorcised demon of darkness!" they all said as they glowed and turned into what Hikari never expected, herself. The light around what represented her heart caused the darkness to go around her and leap at it. They wrestled on the ground until finally the light penetrated the darkness and entered her body again. Suddenly she screamed as the darkness left her and formed something that somewhat resembled her. "What happened?" Hikari asked. Suddenly the creature that resembled her moved. "Your light exorcised me." it said as it grabbed for her. "Iraki!" Hikari yelled. "Yes, I now possess this dark copy of you. Your heart is very strong. I underestimated it, but not again. Dark Gate!" she yelled as she caused a gate to open. "How...how did you do that?" Hikari asked. "Didn't you know? Your light gives you attributes, though not digital ones." Iraki explained, "How do you think your heart exorcised me?"  
  
Hikari then realized she knew that, she always knew that somehow. "But before I do anything I'll seal you in the Void of Darkness." she said as she floated towards Hikari. "No!! Force of Light!" Hikari screamed as her light grew and destroyed the gate and sent Iraki into the wall. "Err, I should have known, she's more than the keeper of light, she is Light itself probably." Iraki said as she dashed at Hikari but before she could she was hit by a fist and fell to the ground. As she looked to see what hit her she was surprise to see Ken and Takeru standing in front of Hikari with their eyes glowing pure white. "Err, she awakened the power of the other two with attributes of the heart." Iraki said as she disappeared. Suddenly Hikari glowed again and caused the other to appear fully healed. Takeru and Ken though still stood in front of her with their eye's glowing white. "What happened? And what wrong with them?" The others asked. "It too dangerous, all of you should try and get out of here. And take Takeru and Ken, and no matter what don't let them come after me." Hikari said as she waved her hand and their eyes turned back to normal. "What's going on?" Both asked as   
Hikari ran down a corridor to the center of the flying castle, where the throne room and an entry room of illisions that she would have to go through to get into the throne room where her ultimate battle would take place.  
  
They others were backtracking to find a way out. For some reason, even though they didn't want to, they listened to Hikari. "Which way do we go now?" Ken asked as they came to a dead-end. "To the Void of Darkness!" a voice came as an ogre-like creature attacked them. Ken suddenly dodged the attack by the creature and countered it with a sweep kick knocking it down.   
"Nekmar, you cannot win. The one of kindness can defeat your cruel ways," a voice said from Ken. "So, the power of Kindness has been awakened. No wonder   
Iraki retreated to her throne room," the creature said getting up. "I will defeat you, using Ken's body!" the voice yelled as Ken suddenly formed a ball of light energy in his hands. "No, impossible! That is..." the creature started. "Kindness from Within!" Ken finished while releasing the energy ball, which hit the creature destroying it. Ken then regained control of his body. "Guys, its an illusion, there's no wall and this hallway is going to have rubble fall and block the way. We have to run!" Ken yelled as he ran through the wall.  
  
Hikari stood in front of the door to the room before the throne room. "How do   
I open it?" she asked herself. Suddenly the door flew open and without thinking walked in. As she entered the door shut and the room went dark.   
"What's happening?" she cried. "Your worst nightmare!" a familiar voice yelled. "No, not you!" she screamed as Myotismon appeared. "Hahahaha, time for you to join your friends." Myotismon said as he waved his hands revealing the others tied to tall poles. "No! This can't be happening!" Hikari yelled as see looked at the others wounded badly. She then noticed Myotismon getting closer. She tried to get away but no matter where she turned she saw him. "You can not escape me." Myotismon said as he grabbed her, but Hikari then realized something, she couldn't feel his presence at all. She saw, felt, and heard him, but she couldn't sense his dark presence at all. It was almost as if it was an illusion. To see if it was she summoned up all her power she could and sent her light throughout the entire room revealing that it was an illusion. She could then see the door to the throne room, but a dark figure stood in front of the door laughing.  
  
Hikari looked at the figure wonder who or what it was. "So, you've made it this far, but can you get the key to open this door from me, The Shadow Queen!" the figure yelled, as she turned into a tall pale woman with long black hair and eyes that glowed red. "I will defeat you!" Hikari yelled as she dashed at The Shadow Queen to attack.  
  
***  
  
~Venus163  
  
It seemed to Hikari that she would defeat her in one go, but as she came closer and closer to the evil being, suddenly the Shadow Queen shimmered and disappeared. With a grunt, Hikari toppled over, unable to stop herself in time.  
  
Before she could scramble up, the Shadow Queen's icy fingers closed around her neck. The light in Hikari rebelled, and if someone had been watching, they would have seen the visible battle between the light and the darkness, neither one seeming to have an advantage over the other.  
  
"Foolish girl," Hikari heard whispered in her ear. "Did you honestly think that light would defeat darkness? You are helpless... there is no one to help you..."  
  
Bright lights were dancing in front of her eyes, as Hikari gasped for air.   
It could not end like this. It just couldn't...  
  
---  
  
Ken, held up by Stingmon, studied everyone around him. Takeru was helping Iori up onto Pegasusmon. Miyako and Daisuke were seated on Aquilamon, both looking shaken and still uneasy. The other Digimon were in their respective Chosen's arms.  
  
Gatomon looked ready to leap out of Miyako's arms. "Hikari's still in there... she needs me..."  
  
Ken sighed. "Come on... we have to get out of here..."  
  
"Gatomon's right," Takeru said suddenly. "Hikari's in trouble... I can feel it."  
  
"But what can we do?" asked Daisuke bitterly. "We're useless."  
  
Without warning beams of darkness were coming out of every single window in the castle. The extreme level of dark energy almost leveled Ken and Takeru, who were still rather sensitive to it after their encounter with Iraki. They watched as the sky turned pitch black and silence fell, unbreakable and unstoppable.  
  
Takeru felt his heart sink. Hikari was losing if something of this caliber had occurred.  
  
Being so occupied, it took him about a minute to realize that there were voices in his head.  
  
I hope this is just an eclipse of some sort...  
  
I hope my roses can withstand this...  
  
I hope my children are safe...  
  
Slowly, the Chosen of Hope raised his head. From the direction of the city, bubbles seemed to be floating up towards him. Something inside of him was telling him that only he had the power to see these, and that they were important.  
  
They were of all different sizes, some no bigger than a fingernail, others as large as Pegasusmon. As they came closer, he could hear countless voices whispering to him, young and old, high and low pitched, husky and clear... but all were filled with hope.  
  
I hope my Mommy can come home soon...  
  
I hope my wedding isn't ruined...  
  
I hope Dad can pull through this...  
  
The bubbles seemed to melt together with him, bonding with him, and he felt power pulsing through his very blood.  
  
I hope she loves me...  
  
I hope I can live up to his expectations...  
  
Takeru realized that these were the hopes of the people of Tokyo. As his power grew, he began to glow a white, startling the others with him.  
  
Breaking the silence with a swift thought, he yelled, "This is for you,   
Hikari... we're all counting on you..."  
  
And with those words said, the glowing rays flew towards the castle...  
  
---  
  
The Shadow Queen shrieked and let go of Hikari's neck abruptly. The girl forced herself to sit up, cradling her bruised neck and taking in large gasps of air.  
  
"What is this?" The Shadow Queen screeched. "What is this power?"  
  
Hikari watched, as light seemed to penetrate through the very stones of the castle, seeping in from the walls and through the ceiling. They sank into her, caressing her bones and supporting her light. She recognized it instantly.  
  
Takeru...  
  
This was hope.  
  
She stood, her throat healing as she walked slowly towards her enemy.  
  
The Shadow Queen cringed and backed away into a dark corner. As Hikari walked closer, the darkness fled and she was left bathed in the mixture of light and hope.  
  
"No! This can't be happening!" Wavering, the woman turned into shadows then back; she looked pale and scared. "No!"  
  
Hikari pitied her. After all her adversary had said and done, after she had tried to kill her... the Chosen of Light still pitied her.  
  
That was the final stroke. With a pitiful, pathetic scream, the Shadow Queen dissolved completely.  
  
A heavy metal key fell with a clunk to the stone floor...  
  
***  
  
~Jack  
  
Hikari stood above the place where the evil Shadow Queen breathed he last, panting heavily from the effort.  
  
She could feel the incredible energies that had flown through her veins slowly subside, no longer needed after the battle, and being replaced by the heady sensation of adrenalin still doing its job. The radiant glow that surrounded her faded away with the energy and once again cast the throne room into darkness. But she knew that there was nothing behind this darkness, no evil presence causing it to form, it just needed a little light to dispel it.  
  
Groping around the room and using the walls as a guide, she found her way to the fireplace, which adorned opposite side of the hall. A few more moments and she discovered a candle resting on the mantel along with a box of matches, waiting for someone to use them. She opened the box and withdrew one of the matches and pulled it across the top of the mantle. The little wooden stick blazed into life with a tiny flame.  
  
Hikari took a moment to watch the flame dance happily above her fingers. The small tendril of fire swayed in the still air of the castle, casting a warming glow across her face and its image reflecting in her deep crimson eyes. She smiled as she brought the happy flame to the candle's wick. As the two touched the flame spread to the candle and grew as it fed off the wax into a strong flicker of light that scared away the shadows of the hall and cast a warm glow all around.  
  
She turned, candle in hand and headed for the doors that would lead her out of this horrible castle and out to her friends and home. As she passed the corner of the Queen, she couldn't stop herself from looking at it one more time. She turned her head and was stopped by the glint of light off metal. Bending down for a closer look she found the key exactly where it had fallen. Putting down the candle, she picked it up and turned it around in her hands as she inspected it.  
  
It was an old skeleton key made out of ordinary metal. She looked around the room once more, trying to find the keyhole, which it logically should be paired with. After a couple of sweeps she found it, it was positioned above the throne at the back of the hall, made out of solid gold that sparkled in the candlelight.  
  
Moving as if drawn to it, Hikari walked over to the richly decorated throne. Placing the key on the padded seat she climbed up herself. The keyhole was now at her shoulder as she picked up the key and placed it at its entrance. For the first few centimeters the key slid in easily but as it moved further, a grinding of metal against metal could be heard coming from the lock, testifying to its age. But curiosity had taken hold of her and she wasn't about to stop. Adding all of her weight to the key she pushed until it was buried up to the hilt.  
  
Leaning back to admire her work, Hikari brought the candle closer to the lock. As the light came up to the area, details began to appear in the polished metal. There was some sort of writing all around the keyhole but it was in a language that she didn't know. The symbols, if that was what they were, had a distinctly evil look to them. They were hard and pointed, jutting off at odd angles with many of them crossing each other before ending in sharp points.  
  
Above the symbols were designs and pictures, which Hikari could understand. There were three of them, one to the left of the keyhole, another to the right and one above it. An arrow pointing form one to the next connected each symbol, almost as if it described an event or something. The first depicted a simple drawing of the castle, the second a keyhole just like the one below it, and the last showed the castle again but this time surrounded in a glowing radiance.  
  
Hikari didn't know for sure what any of it meant but she did know that whatever that glow meant, it must be important. And the Shadow Queen held onto the key until her death which meant that she didn't want anyone getting it unless they came through her first, and that was good enough for Hikari. Gathering all her strength she grabbed the key and turned it to the glowing castle.  
  
With a click that sounded throughout the hall the key settled into place and, silence. She looked around the hall but nothing had changed. Then, the stones in the walls began to shake…  
  
---  
  
Meanwhile, on the outside of the castle the rest of the digidestines hovered in stunned silence. After watching the powerful display of light and energy that somehow seemed to explode from Takeru they had peppered him with questions asking what that light was, how was he able to do that, and was he all right. But Takeru would only shake his head and say he would explain it all after Hikari was back. And so, reluctantly, they sat back and waited.  
  
Everything was quiet for a long while afterwards and they were getting worried. Hikari had been in there for more than a half an hour and there was no sign that she had succeeded in whatever she was supposed to do.  
  
And the first to reach the peak was Daisuke. "That's it!" He yelled, "I'm going in after her. Come on Miyako lets go."  
  
"Wait."  
  
Daisuke turned, fire burning in his eyes. "What do you mean wait, Takeru?" He demanded. "She's in there and she needs our help!"  
  
"No," Said the child of hope. "Something's happening." And he pointed to the castle.  
  
Everyone turned quickly towards the castle in time to see it start to shake and tremble. They stared as huge cracks spread all over the stone walls and a deafening rumble of stone falling and grinding against stone filled the air.  
The shaking seemed to be tearing the castle apart, the turrets shuddered and fell inward into the courtyard, roofs cracked and crumbled into the rooms they were made to protect and the light sound of the giant painted glass windows shattering could be heard. Then, as soon as it started, the shaking stopped. Silence once again fell over the area and the group of stunned onlookers hovering around it.  
  
The stillness pressed hard against their ears. The castle was just a shadow of its former self, a mess of crumbled walls and broken stone instead of the ominous structure that it was just seconds before. Yet it still floated lazily above the city, as if a dogged determination to hold the last bits of itself together were the only thing keeping it up.  
  
Finally, Miyako found her voice and spoke up. "What just happened?" She asked.  
  
But before anyone could respond they were stopped by the glare of pure white light erupting from the cracked rubble. They all through up their hands to shield their eyes from the intensity of the brilliance.   
  
And then, the castle exploded.  
  
The shockwave launched rock and stone in all directions and tossed the digidestines back like rag dolls. They tumbled through the debris for what seemed like ages until the digimon managed to stop and right them, just in time to see the rubble plummeting towards the ground. The stones, which obviously had lost the ability to hover, fell faster and faster towards the houses of the city, with the digidestines watching helplessly from above.   
  
Closer and closer they fell until they were just scant feet from the roofs of the houses, and then they stopped. Huge pieces and tiny pebbles alike all hung in the air above the heads of the people walking on the streets below. They hovered for only a few seconds more until they launched themselves back up into the sky; they all climbed up into the sky each heading for the same place. The pieces converged, with a deafening noise that left the digidestines ears ringing and with a flash, the last bits of the rubble disappeared.  
  
As the digidestines rubbed the last of the fading spots from their eyes, they looked back to the to where the castle once stood. To their surprise they saw a lone figure floating limply in the air.  
  
Takeru recognized it at once. "Hikari!" He yelled as he and Tailmon rode Pegasusmon quickly to her side.  
  
As soon as he got close enough, he reached out and gently pulled Hikari to him. At first glance she looked to be dead, she hung there limp in his arms. But the steady rise and fall of her chest quickly told him otherwise.   
  
And then her eyes opened and she smiled. "We won." She whispered.  
  
As Tailmon moved to her side she said, "Yes we won."  
  
---  
n  
As Takeru opened the door to his apartment the sun was just beginning to set.  
  
"What a day," he said as he kicked off his shoes and collapsed onto the sofa.  
  
"You said it," agreed Patamon as he landed on a nearby chair.  
  
Then his mother's voice floated in from the kitchen. "Is that you Takeru?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah mom, it's me."  
  
"Well, I hope you had a good time with your friends." She said, "And did you see the eclipse today? It was amazing!"  
  
"Yeah mom," He said, a small tired smile tugging at his lips, "We had front row seats."  
  
THE END  
  
***  
  
And here they are! All the people who made this possible! With out you guys I wouldn't have been able to do this. Thanks!  
  
~Midnight Velvet  
~Zxcv  
~Anorexic Chibi  
~Kuroi Shi  
~ Demiveemons_Candy_Eater ~  
~Renegade  
~Arch Nemesis  
~Dark Prince~  
~Venus163  
  
Thanks you guys!  



End file.
